Ship-propulsion installations



'0. C. BLACK; SHIP PROPULSION INSTALLATIONS.

APPLICAUON FILED SEPT. {51 1919.

Patentgd Apr. 12, 1921 Invenfor 29M ,UNITED STATES P TE .QFIFIICE? DAVID cnnrsrornnn BLACK, OrTALLoA, SCOTLAND, essrsivon T rnnsons MARINE STEAM TURBINE corrrnnx LIMITED, or. ,wnrirsnnnsonsrxnn, ENGLAND.

Application filed September 1 5,; 1919}-- Seria1 1103323910.

To-"allzwii o m'z't may aomm'. J

Be it known that I, DAVID CHRISTOPHER BLACK, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residin at 4 Bank street, Alloa, in the county of lackmannan, Scotland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Ship-PropulsionInstallations, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to ship propulsion installations of the type where two or more motors or sets of motors drive through gearing two or more propeller shafts.

In such installations where two or more propellers are used, the propeller shafts usually pass either through'a large tunnel in the holds or through separate ones, the distance between the shafts in the engine room being approximately thesame as that between the propellers, all the gearing being in the engine room, or in a recess adjacent to it. This arrangement compared with a single screw vessel involves loss of hold space, broken stowage, increased weight and cost of structure of tunnels, &c.', in a varying degree, depending upon the number of shafts and the arrangement, and it is a method of minimizing these objections which is the object of the present invention,

as applied to installations where two or more propellers are used.

The ob ect of the present invention is to arrange the engines, intermediate shafts and gearing of a geared ship propulsion installation in such a manner as to give the maximum hold space in the'vessel and to minimize the hold space occupied by the power transmission system.

I have found that in installations for ship propulsion in which reduction gearing is employed, considerable economy of hold 7 space may be obtained by a careful consideration of the disposition of the various shafts and gearing by which ower is transmitted from the turbines or ot er prime movers to the ropellers.

The invention further consists in an installation in which multiple reduction gearing is employed, the gearing being divided, one or more gears being situated in the proximity of the engine room and other gears being situated aft of the after hold, the intermediate shafts placed in tunnels at the sides of the ship and being so dis- Specification of Lettersiratentf I Patented rsrrir-rnorunsroiv rns'rnnrini'rons.

pl'acecl relatively :to. the I axes the imotojr shafts and propeller shafts as to give a greater hold space.

The invention further consists in such an installation having single or multiple reductlon gearing in which the intermediate shaftspassing through the hold are spreadfarther apart than the propeller shafts and placed in separate tunnels disposed in the wings of the hold or in spaces provided outde the hold, 6. 9., foranti-torpedo protec- 1on. 1 I

The invention further consists in the improved installation-for ship propulsion in which reduction gearing is employed hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawing which is a plan view in which the intermediate shafts and gearing are arranged so as to glve considerable width of hold'space,

the tunnels being placed in proximity tothe sides of the vessel in the form of the invention illustrated the intermediate shafts 61, 62 are placed in tunnels 63, 64:, built against the sides of the ship. .The reduction gearings are divided, the first reduc tions 65, 66 being placed in the-engine room in such a position that the intermediate shafting is well outside the main portion of the engines and gearing. In some cases, however, the turbines may be placed in the wings and drive the after gearing direct. The second reductions 67 68 are placed as far aft as convenient and are so arranged that the propeller shafting is considerably nearer the central line of the vessel than the intermediate shafting. In this manner a very considerable width of hold space is provided without any central tunnels for the shafting. The gears may be single or multiple. r

Further advantages of placing the whole means can be used to indicate and prevent damage due to a failure of the oil supply or undueheating of the gears, thrusts and bearings'when located aft. U

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

In a marine propulsion installation, a plurality of propeller shafts, driving means lo cated in an engine room, 'a shaft intermediate between said driving means and each of said propeller shafts, gearing in proximity to said driving means and connecting it to each intermediate shaft, gearing widel spaced from the engme room" and aft the hold connecting each. intermediate shaft with the corresponding propeller shaft, the

axial displacement of each intermediate shaft with respect to the corresponding pro- DAVID CHRISTOPHERBLACK.

whereof I haVesigned peller shaft necessitated by the gearing be- 7 ing toward the "side of the vessel in order 

